Is August Over Already??!!

We have a half day off every week which is called our T & R day (Temple and Research).  In addition, we have one whole day off each month for the same purpose. We also work one Saturday a month and when we work on Saturday we have Friday off.  This was our Saturday work week so we were off on Friday as well as Wednesday afternoon.  We went shopping, got a hair cut, and did some baking which we normally get done on Saturday. It's always fun to work on Saturday because there are usually less missionaries working at the Library and so we stay extra busy.

Tuesday evening concert

The Tuesday evening concert in the Brigham Young Park was the Stratford Street Big Band & Sugar Sisters. They were advertised as a "Swing Band and vocalists sharing songs from the Big Band era" and were so good they made you want to get up and dance! When the band leader announced that if you felt like dancing to please do so one of the sisters that we home teach, Sister Gregory and another sister got up and danced all around the crowd.  She plays the piano and is very talented but we had no idea that she also loved to dance.

Sister Gregory (white shirt)  up dancing with a sister missionary

We had to go to a meeting on the 26th floor of the Church Office Building on Thursday so I took advantage of the height and took several pictures. 

8-Story building is our apartment building (from the 26th floor)
 (Bushes and grass grow on top of the Conference Center)

Reflection pond just east of the Temple (from the 26th floor)
 
The red brick area is where families gather to take pictures following a wedding.

Temple and Tabernacle (from the 26th floor)
The flat roof building just beyond the tabernacle is the Family History Library where we serve.

We concluded our week by attending a concert on Friday night presented by  the Wasatch & District Pipe Band which are award-winning bagpipers and Celtic drummers. They also had a group of Scottish Highland Dancers who performed for part of the show. Then on Saturday night we heard the Bella Trio consisting of sopranos Brianne Benson, Megan Phillips Cash, and Clara Hurtado Lee, who sang a program entitled "An Evening of Broadway." Their numbers included "I Feel Pretty," "Send in the Clowns," "Popular," and about 10 other great songs. They were delightful to listen to.

The Bella Trio, consisting of sopranos Brianne Benson, Megan Phillips Cash, and Clara Hurtado Lee, will sing a program entitled "An Evening of Broadway." - See more at: http://entertainment.sltrib.com/events/view/the_bella_trio#sthash.41Hq25vd.dpuf

Wasatch & District Pipe Band

Scottish Highland Dancers

The night sky walking home Saturday night 8/24/2013

There is an article in the Deseret News about Elder Russell David Olsen one of the young elders who serves in our mission. One day when I came out of a class I observed him typing and stopped to ask him about his speed.  I think I'm a pretty fast typist but this young man's hands were flying across the keyboard. He told me he types upwards of 200 WPM. The article is about how he can accurately type 180+ words per minute. If you are interested in reading the Deseret News article about him click here.

Some of you have probably been involved in indexing through Family Search, if not you might like to give it a whirl; it's a great way to help people everywhere as they search for their ancestors. If you'd like to view a cute video about the importance of indexing please view this link: http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-03-01-familysearch-indexing-is-vital?category=family-history&lang=eng

The Martin Harris Pageant in Clarkston

We went to the concert in the park on Tuesday night and heard "Ayllupura" a South American and Andean Folk music group. We enjoyed the concert.  There will be another Andean Music Concert in the Tabernacle on December 6.

The Group - Ayllpura

I was so surprised as I walked east on North Temple to see that all the trees on the west side of the conference center are already wrapped with Christmas lights and it's still August!! The cherry pickers are parked all around Temple Square as the workers are busy getting the lights up.  I'm so excited to get to see them; I've always wanted to come to Temple Square in December so I could see the lights.

 I must brag about the great weather we are having here in Salt Lake right now.  The days are warm but at night it's getting cool enough for a jacket and it feels absolutely WONDERFUL.  I keep thinking about our friends and family in Arizona and know that you are ROASTING right now.

Black and white day for 4 sister missionaries

Apparently it was black and white day for the British floor on Thursday because 4 of the missionary sisters came to work in a combination of those colors.

We took a little road trip on Saturday to Clarkston, Utah to attend the  Pageant called, "Martin Harris - The Man Who Knew." (It was about a 2-hour drive). Our trip included a stop to see the Temple in Brigham City which happens to be right across the street from the Brigham City Tabernacle.  They were both such beautiful buildings.  We learned that the Tabernacle actually burned and had to be rebuilt. 

Brigham City Temple

Sign in front of Brigham City Tabernacle

Front view of the Brigham City Tabernacle

Podium in the Brigham City Tabernacle

Brigham City Tabernacle

Side view of Logan Temple

Logan Temple

Logan Temple Window

Clarkston is a community of about 660 people that is about 20 miles North of Logan.  There are no grocery stores, gas stations, nor any fast food in Clarkston. The townspeople put on an evening meal for $8 per person (kind of a captive audience) prior to the pageant.  We learned as we visited with the local residents that all the proceeds from the dinner are to build a Civic Center for the town. They use the old Chapel that is there in Clarkston since they have no other place to use.  The Chapel is 100 years old, has an elevator, an upstairs and a basement, quite an interesting building.

Smiley face handstamps - (ticket to get in for the dinner)

Cultural Hall all set up ready for the meal

Servers at the dinner

REAL mashed potatoes and gravy with roast beef, salad, corn, a roll and berry pie - YUM!!

Fellow missionaries from Salt Lake

Martin Harris settled in Clarkston and lived out his life with a son there.  The cemetery has a giant gravestone dedicated to him. 

Cemetery where Martin Harris's Grave is - Pageant is on this hill

A full house for the Martin Harris Pageant

Lucy Harris is in the Red Dress

Young Man who portrayed Joseph Smith

Byde placed a call to the Shreeve home and walked over and put it to Sister Shreeve's ear to say hi to her dad. It was a pleasant surprise for both of them.  Her companion kept looking at her to see if she was going to cry as she spoke with her parents. It was fun for both of us to recognize each other far from home.

Members of the Cast

Bishop Shreeve's daughter is serving in Clarkston
We  first saw Sister Shreeve at the dinner and then she was "working" at the Pageant.

3 young girls in Pageant

See all the dust - the wind was blowing as hard as it does in Snowflake!!

The Church provided sound equipment and lighting for the pageant.  Originally it was done by the Town but has become such a big production that the LDS Church now produces it.  It was very professionally done and for the 2013 showing of 9 performances they had over 38,000 people attend.  The Pageant will not be produced again until 2015 as they only have the performance in the odd years.

Our Musical Week

This week has been pretty much business-as-usual at the Library but with a few more added hours of assisting the British patrons on computer which made the week fly by even faster. We've already been here for over 5 months but it seems like we just started.

We went to the "Concerts in the Park" on Tuesday  and heard "Unstrung" which was the Livingstone family (Mom and Pop on the ends, girls in the middle) who did a killer Bluegrass and old-time gospel music concert.  

Unstrung - The Singleton Family Bluegrass Band

 On Friday it was "Dr. Decibel and the Sound Prescription"which was an absolutely great classic rock 'n' roll band. The concerts in the park will end at the end of the month as I'm sure it will be getting too cold to have them outside.  I was really surprised at how cool it was on Friday night.

Dr. Decibel and the Sound Prescription - Elvis impersonation.

On Saturday we drove to South Jordan to attend the Salt Lake County Fair.  We saw lots of beautiful quilts and many other displays by school groups, FFA, and 4-H groups. We watched the livestock auction when they were auctioning off the animals raised by the 4-H groups.  One ewe auctioned at $350.

Pam the Pig and Byde the Cow

Saturday night we attended the concert in the Assembly Hall which featured Carolee Fairbanks, soprano and Vickie Christensen, Piano and composer.  My cousin, Ginger Belknap's husband, Monte, was part of the string group that accompanied Ms Fairbanks. He is an associate professor of violin at BYU.

Monte Belknap, Pam and Byde

 On Sunday morning we attended the Tabernacle Broadcast as we usually do. They are now beginning their 85th year. Today they had guest conductors Jerold Ottley and Craig Jessop, who previously directed the choir, direct several of the numbers. You can see the 4 conductors standing in the front.  Of the 85 years that the broadcast has been on the air, these 4 men represent almost half of that time.

Ryan Murphy, Jerold Ottley, Craig Jessop, and Mack Wilberg

Ryan Murphy, Mack Wilberg, Craig Jessop, Jerold Ottley

Snowflake / Taylor Cucumbers X 2

Pickling Cucumbers & Yellow Crookneck Squash

I love cucumbers! When I was growing up in Snowflake, my parents raised pickling cucumbers commercially for Arnold Pickle and Olive Co in Arizona. Pickling cucumbers are different than the longer dark green variety you normally find in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store as can be seen in the picture. This week I received a call from my Brother, Blake, and he said his son was driving to Salt Lake and he was sending me cucumbers and squash - YEAH. The next day I got a call from my sister, Kathy, and she told me her granddaughter, Allee, was returning to Provo after a family reunion and she was sending me (drum roll please) cucumbers (as well as some peppers and chili).  I feel doubly loved and am so grateful for family who goes out of their way to serve us. (These were actually grown in Taylor).

Allee and Pam

It's been a great week at the library! We have the opportunity to have a devotional/prayer meeting every day before we start our work. It is such a treat to get to know the other missionaries that we serve with as they share their thoughts and experiences with us. We love the things we continue to learn and the associations that we have.  We have made some really special friends.

Translator Byde with our friends, the Shios

Monday night we had the rare privilege of a tour of the LDS Church's translation department with our "Social Group." (Missionaries are assigned to a social group when they enter the mission and are encouraged to do an activity monthly). I was flabbergasted at the vastness of the process of what goes on there.

There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants 90:11 which states, "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ." This scripture is literally being fulfilled by the huge effort that is undertaken by this special department. 

We learned that  the United Nations translates into 7 languages.  The LDS Church translates into 94 languages.  When the UN delegates came for a tour of the department, they were duly impressed. In addition to the 58 booths that are housed in the conference center there are additional translations that occur in the country itself.  For General Conference the assigned speakers are required to turn the talks in 2 weeks in advance and the translators are given a copy to study.  When they have the headset on they hear the talk coming in one ear and their own voice translating in the other.  According to Sister Roberts it is a real talent and that women make especially good translators. Women by nature are multi-taskers and hence extra talented. When the speaker varies from their prepared text it can make some tense moments for the translators. Our friends, the Shios have a son who works in this department.

Diagram of the 58 Translation Booths

Section of the Mother Board

Sister Carole Roberts, our tour guide

58 of the 94 languages that are translated in the department

On Tuesday we went to the Brigham Young Historic Park to hear a jazz group called "New Hot 5" who played New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz music.  For one of the numbers the trumpet player placed his horn against the rim of the tuba, as you can see in the picture below, to create the sound of a mandoline. We enjoyed not only the concert, but the nice cool evening sitting on the grass (on lawn chairs). We would be unable to do that in Mesa at this time of year! We really appreciate the cool mornings and evenings.

"New Hot 5"

Friday night we attended the wedding reception of our son's sister-in-law, Maria Tenney. They were married in the Snowflake, Arizona Temple on July 27 and had one reception in Woodruff, Arizona and then a second one here in SLC.  It was a treat for us to get to visit with the Tenney's.

Saturday night we attended a concert in the Assembly Hall performed by Linda Margetts Family

Strings. Linda has been a Temple Square organist since 1984 and holds a PhD in music composition

Linda Margetts Family Strings

from the University of Utah. In addition to the many other things that she does, is an adjunct assistant professor at the "U" where she teaches organ. If you look closely on the front row of the picture you will see a little girl in a black dress with a mini violin (she didn't play much but she sure was cute).

On Saturday we finally made it to walk through the downtown SLC Farmer's Market.  This is a large market held every Saturday from June through October.

SLC Farmer's Market

There are fruits and vegetables a plenty along with many vendors of all kinds.  There are also different small musical groups that perform throughout the Park. These 2 small boys were playing there with their violin case open to receive donations.  The little one on the right was all smiles but the one on the left was pretty sober!

And last but not least some of the many beautiful flowers that are in bloom on Temple Square.